Susan Remembers
by cailinbeag
Summary: Susan has forgotten Narnia, but Narnia hasn't forgotten her, and the Pevensies are called upon to help their fellow Narnians once again. What would happen if, instead of the Pevensies going to Narnia, the Narnians came to them? Post VODT. Will have multiple chapters eventually. T just in case for the battle scenes. NOT SUSPIAN, on temporary hiatus.


_I've been meaning to post this for some time but I never got around to it, but here it is!  
_Disclaimer: I do not own any of this apart from the characters I created myself.

Susan Remembers

"Susan! John is here!"  
"Just coming, Mother!" The 19 year old called from her room. She gave a glance in the mirror to check her already perfect hair and make-up had not been messed up. Giving herself a smile at her reflection, she left the bedroom and smoothly made her way downstairs to where her American beau waited for with a cluster of pink roses for her. Susan's smile turned to a grin when John announced that he had a surprise for her, if her parents could spare her for the day. They of course agreed, as Susan's mother was delighted that her daughter had not only easily managed to integrate her way into American society, she had also become close to Captain John Farris, an up and rising star both socially and in the military.

"So, where are we going for this surprise?" Asked Susan, as they walked down the lane, one hand holding the flowers and the other firmly tucked in John's hand.  
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise would it now?"  
"When will I find out?"  
"When we arrive!"  
They climbed into John's car, and, with John driving, they left the town and entered the rolling countryside that surrounded so many of the towns in their area. After driving for a short while past fields with the occasional herding animals and woods that ran all the way back to the edge of their town, they turned onto a small lane which lead to a courtyard boxed in by the main white washed building, but mainly by the horse stables, where several of the horses were leaning out of.

"We're going riding?" Susan exclaimed in surprise. John nodded and smiled at the joyous expression on her face.  
"Yes, Marcus has been coming here for a while; once he brought Jessica here and she loved it so they recommended it to me. I knew that all of you were taught how to ride in England."  
"But what am I going to wear? These clothes are hardly suitable for riding in." Susan asked, ignoring John's subtle probe into how she learnt to ride, as none of them mentioned who or where they were taught, as she couldn't honestly remember herself; the only memory she had was of riding through a forest with her siblings, but it must have been a dream. After all, there was no way that it could have been real, for they had all seemed to be adults and it just wasn't possible. Even Peter had only been sixteen and the two younger ones were still children.

John chuckled. "Do not fret, I did think of that. Lucy packed some old riding clothes of your mother's into the smaller bag in the boot of the car. I was assured the clothes would fit." Susan nodded. When her mother had been younger, she had ridden a lot, and Susan had inherited the same body shape allowing her to wear many of her mother's older clothes.

Just then, a middle aged, dark haired woman in riding jodhpurs approached them as they got out of the car.  
"Good afternoon. My name is Helen Dridgen and I will be helping you today. Do you have suitable clothing for riding in?" John and Susan nodded. "Good. Ma'am, if you would like to follow me to a place where you may change clothes. My colleague James will be out in a minute to assist you sir."

After Susan had changed and hung her clothes in the wardrobe, she walked out to the courtyard where Helen and John were leading out two horses. Helen brought over the horse she was leading to Susan.  
"This is Myra, she is a relatively small American Saddlebreed, she is very good natured and an excellent horse for trail riding." Helen explained as Susan mounted. John, who had also mounted his horse, an Arabian called Milo and rode up to Susan and Helen.  
"As you two are obviously used to riding, I will not bore you with instructions, but please could you both ride around the courtyard quickly so I can be sure that you will be able to handle the horses."  
Susan and John did as they were asked, with Susan quickly adapting to being back in the saddle.

"Thank you for that," Helen told them when they had finished, "Here is the map for the trail, as you can see, it takes you back through the forest close to the town itself, and if you would like, there is a pathway that takes you into the town itself, and there is a stable where the horses can be looked after if you wish to do something else during the time you have. It depends on how long you wish to ride for, but it is an excellent ride and I would recommend it even if you do not go into the town."  
"Thank you. I think we will take your advice, as I'm sure we will want something to eat in town." John agreed. Then they headed off down worn tracks which lead to the forest.

At first they rode in a comfortable silence but after a while, they got on to the subject of their families, or more specifically, their siblings.  
"How are Lucy and Edmund settling in? I heard they had become good friends with Daniel Jessop's children."  
"Anna and Felix, yes. Anna was the one who introduced Edmund to Felix, and now Lucy, Anna, Edmund, Felix are inseparable. They are like part of the family quite often."  
"That's good to hear. Dan is a great man, but his wife Michelle practically raised those children on her own, with Dan always somewhere else with work, even after he got promoted, so it is great that the four of them can rely on each other. How is Peter doing at university?"  
"I think it is a quite a shock, as he is used to be tutored by Professor Kirke, and now he's away from home, in a different country and a different environment where he has lessons with other people."  
"He will get used to it. Annie was in shock too when she first went to university, but she has loved it. How are your parents? They look happy to me."  
"Yes, Mother and Father enjoy being in America. They disliked the fact that they could not be sure that any of us were safe in England and they are glad that we all have fitted in."  
"You especially!" John teases her, only half joking. But it was true. Susan had easily made friends, and was constantly praised for her manners, personality but particularly her beauty. She was adored by everyone, except her siblings. They loved her of course, but she had so easily forgotten the one thing that had brought them together in the first place. Narnia. She had so wanted to become part of the social group in America, that she had banished any thoughts or memories that were related to anything childish, which, unfortunately, included Narnia. So when her two younger siblings had turned up, with their chatter full of their most recent adventures in Narnia, and their mourning at their loss of Narnia too, she had laughed, and dismissed the ideas as childish fantasies, the same things which she had grown out of, as she told them. It was then that that she lost her siblings' trust. She had broken the bonds that connected them together; to Narnia.

During their journey, they decided to have a race. John, of course, was certain he would win, but, of course, it was much more chivalrous to let Susan win. What he hadn't bargained for was the event of Susan actually winning out of her own right. The two of them happily raced through the woods, sometimes stretching their horses' speed to the limit but sometimes slowing down to a trot so they could talk to each other. Susan was cantering past trees and jumping over fallen logs with John just behind her when she heard something that sounded like metal clashing against metal. She slowed down so John could catch up.  
"John, what is that noise? It seems familiar though I can't place it."  
"I have no idea, but it could be trouble. Stay here while I go and look."

Suddenly they heard a man crying out, and Susan, acting on instinct, ignored John and raced to see who it was. The clash of metal lead her to a clearing in the forest, where she met a sight that Susan had told herself over and over again came from her dreams. Two men, one in full battle armour, the other wearing only chest and leg protectors, were fighting using swords. The less protected man was clearly the better swordsman, but he was wounded in the arm and was slower than he should have been. Susan watched, first in interest then in horror when she realised exactly who the wounded man was.

"Stop!" Susan yelled as she threw herself off her horse. Disconcerted, the man in armour let down his guard, allowing his attacker to finish the battle once and for all, striking the man on the head and knocking him into unconsciousness. Just at that moment, John arrived, switching his gaze from Susan to the two men and back again in astonishment. Spotting the injured man lying on the floor, he looked alarmed and swiftly checked the man's breathing. once he was satisfied that the man was in the immediate danger, he went back to gazing at the scene taking place in front of him. The wounded man had barely noticed John, but was staring at Susan.  
"Susan? Is it really you?"  
"Caspian?" Susan couldn't believe what she was seeing. Surely this couldn't be happening. She had made herself believe that all of her childhood expeditions to Narnia had just been dreams, shared by her siblings. But the moment she had seen Caspian again, she realized that everything had happened, just like in her dreams, with the exception that she finally admitted to herself that they weren't dreams.  
"How are you here?" Susan questioned, ignoring the puzzled looks John was sending her.  
"To be honest, I'm not sure. One minute I was discussing battle techniques and the next I'm here being attacked by a Telmarine with a wound in my shoulder. But if I'm here and so was the Telmarine, then the others must be somewhere here as well."

Just then they heard the sound of horses' hoofs charging towards them. They turned to see three Narnians on horseback stopping just in front of Caspian.  
"Your majesty! We have been looking for you everywhere!" The youngest man exclaimed as he climbed down from his horse. He  
"I apologise Matui. I was transported here along with this Telmarine. We fought and I knocked him down; he won't awake for a while." Caspian told him, pointing at the Telmarine lying on the floor of the forest.  
"We will send a man down here to make sure he is properly looked after once we arrive back at the camp. However, King Caspian, we need you to come with us immediately. Danger is imminent and we need time to prepare. You will also need attending to for the wound in your arm." The oldest man said as he looked at Caspian, examining the wound with a practiced eye.  
"Excuse me, but what is the danger?" Susan asked with a confused expression.  
"It is bad. Somehow the Telmarines who supported my uncle Miraz have found support from the White Witch and together they have created an army that includes creatures that I have never before seen or even believed could exist." Caspian explained to Susan. Susan nodded," I know the creatures you talk of. They fought against us in our original battle. Aslan banished them from Narnia, but they must have been released somehow."  
"Please pardon me ma'am, but who exactly are you, and how do you know of our world?" Asked Matui.  
"Ah, yes. Sorry for not introducing everyone first. This is Queen Susan the Gentle of the Golden Age. Susan, these are three of my men. Matui is my newest captain, Dinion is an old friend of mine from my childhood and Rietal is the one who helps me plan battles." Caspain introduced everyone, pointing to each of the men in turn. The Narnians, Matui especially, tried to hide their embarrassment at not recognising one of the old queens of Narnia and immediately bowed to Susan.  
"And who is he?" Rietal pointed at John. Susan quickly turned round to see John still sitting on his horse, watching the whole conversation in shock. It was Susan's turn to look embarrassed.  
"John?" She watched him attentively; unsure of what his reaction to everything that had just happened.  
"What exactly is going on? What is Narnia? Who on earth are these men? Why is there a man lying on the floor unconscious? And why on earth are they calling you two 'king' and 'queen'?"  
"John, it would take a very long time to explain and you would no doubt not believe me even if I was to tell you the truth. All you need to know is that Narnia is a place that my siblings and I found when we were evacuated from our home in London and that Caspian and his men are people from Narnia. The man over there was attacking Caspian, so Caspian knocked him out. Everyone, this is Captain John Farris, my beau. John, Caspian is a good friend of my siblings and I from Narnia." Susan explained, avoiding the long explanation, as it was too lengthy and they were needed elsewhere. Caspian approached John and held his hand out," Like Susan said, my name is Caspian the Tenth, but don't worry about all the titles everyone has." John shook Caspian's hand," If you are all going to disappear to fight a battle, what should I do?" John replied, incredibly calm considering the circumstances, but then he was an army man; this was just one more event where he met the unknown.  
"It would be a great help if you could get my siblings and bring them back here to help in the battle as fast as possible. One of the men will stay here to meet you upon your return."  
"Take this. It will prove to them that they are really needed. Also, if you find yourself in serious danger, blow on it, and help will come." Caspian injected, holding out Susan's horn which he had retrieved from a bag that one of his men had brought with them. John looked at it sceptically," Does it work?"  
"Neither of us would be here if it didn't." Caspian replied pointing his head in Susan's direction. John nodded, took one more look at Susan and galloped off in the direction of the town.

Caspian turned to face his men. "Dinion, if you could stay here to meet the old kings and queen when they arrive. The rest of us will return to the rest of our army. Dinion, be sure to tell them that they will be needed so they must join us as quickly as possible so they can prepare for battle."  
"Of course, your majesty. But I have one question. What should I do with Queen Susan's 'beau'?"  
Caspian looked unsure," I do not know. He is an army man, but I imagine that means something very different in this land, so leave the decision with Queen Susan's siblings. They will make the right choice as they know what the differences are between our type of fighting and his."

"Right. Should we go then?" Susan asked them.  
"Of course. Lead the way Rietal."

Twenty minutes later, the four of them arrived out from the forest onto a flat plain of land that ended in a sudden drop to lower ground beneath it. Stretching out on the plain were hundreds of Narnians, both human and animal, all rushing around in and out of the many tents that had been planted on the far side of the field. A centaur, noticing Caspian, Susan and the others standing them, blow his horn to bring everyone's attention to Caspian.

"As many of you have realised by now, we are not in Narnia anymore. I welcome you to the land of the Old Kings and Queens. But be warned, this world is very different to ours. I must ask you not to leave this area, especially as we have no idea at this present moment in time where the enemy are. But first, we must prepare ourselves for battle. Archers, please meet Queen Susan by the main tent in forty minutes and everyone else must also be ready by then. You may all carry on your business." Caspian made sure to look at all his citizens as he addressed them. The Narnians quickly dispersed to get ready while Caspian lead Susan to the main tent, which had various smaller tents connecting from it. There was a centaur standing at the entrance, acting as a guard, but as he saw Caspian approaching, he stepped aside and bowed respectfully, once to Caspian and again to Susan.

Susan gasped as they entered the tent, for, while the interior wooden furniture was simple, along the wall of the tent were the Pevensies' gifts. Peter's sword and shield rested against the wall just to the left, Susan's bow and arrows stood opposite in a intricately detailed wood stand with Lucy's cordial and dagger, which were also resting in their own stand decorated with tiny images of Aslan on it just to the right. To the left of Peter's gifts lay Edmund's torch perched below a painting of a chess set with golden chess pieces. In the middle of the tent stood a magnificent golden image of Aslan's face which took up much of the wall space.

Susan walked up to her bow and arrows and ran her fingers along the polished wood of her bow.  
"I apologise for not giving you forewarning that I would like you to lead the archers, but we have yet to find another to lead them apart from you, as the archery teachers are good enough to teach but we lost Milariae, the only one of our archers to have battle leading experience a year ago." Caspian explained.  
"It is fine; I had expected to lead them. What will the others do?"  
"I was going to discuss that when they arrived, but I suspect Peter will take the first main group, Edmund and I will likely take the two smaller side groups and Lucy will do what she pleases as I do not know what experience she has in battle."  
"There is no need to worry on Lucy's account, for there is a reason why she is "The Valiant" one and I'm "The Gentle" one. Once we grew up in the Golden Age, Lucy often accompanied Peter and Edmund on crusades and battles whereas I would stay at Cair Paravel and care for all the Narnians who needed our help."  
"In that case perhaps Lucy might either help one of us or lead her own section depending on what she wishes to do."  
"That sounds like a good idea. Are there any clothes we can change into?"  
"Yes, we adapted and added to the clothes that you all had already; Lucy and Edmund's have been made slightly taller but they also have the clothes they wore on the Dawn Treader so they may choose. We have made stronger armour for all of you and we have also made some armoury for Lucy if she wants it. They're in the wardrobe in the corner."  
"Alright, I think I will change now so that when the others arrive at least I'm ready."  
"I will leave you to it then. I will be out on the grass at the back of the tents after I have gone to the medical tent to get my arm attended to."

After Caspian had left, Susan quickly dressed into the clothes and light armour, swung her bow and arrows over her shoulder and fastened her horn to her belt. She smiled as she glanced down at herself, glad to be back in Narnian clothes once again. She walked out onto the grass, and saw Caspian leaning over a table spread with maps deep in discussion with a centaur, dwarf and a man. It was a sight that would seem extremely strange and unreal to most people but to me, it was yet another sign that despite still being in America, it felt like I was in Narnia once more. And that is a feeling that I will never get bored of.

_Please review! I do have ideas as to where this story needs to go, but I need to know what people think about it so I know whether it is worth carrying on with this particular story. I am concentrating more on my other stories at the moment, but if enough people review telling me to continue, __I will try to update more frequently!  
__Thanks (and sorry for the long message at the end),  
_Cailin x


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